SDM — Strategic Decision-Making Model · Adapted from Phoenix Regional Fire Dept SOP M.P. 201.01 for residential trades. Use this on every property visit — arrival through signed contract. Speed of identifying critical factors is the key to achieving profitable objectives.
Property Visit — Field Guide
Free Estimate SOP · Blue Collar Pay SDM · Adapted from Phoenix Regional SOP M.P. 201.01
01
Arrive & Size Up
Appraise the magnitude of this property visit
Walk the entire property before touching anything. Identify what is critical. Disqualify what is not. Speed matters.
Professional arrival — branded van, uniform, introduce yourself
Walk full property before committing to anything
Identify every visible issue — don't just fix the obvious
Assess complexity — how many issues, how accessible?
02
Critical Factors
3 categories — identify what matters on this visit
Not all factors are critical on every visit. Identify which ones matter here. Equally important to disqualify what doesn't.
1. Customer
Availability & attitude
How they prefer to communicate
Existing customer?
Do we have full story?
Is this the end user?
On the same page?
2. Trade Awareness
Water supply located?
Valves & controllers?
Walk system in 5 min?
Can isolate issue?
Accessible?
3. Request for Service
Scope defined?
Diagnose now?
Create plan now?
Warranty work?
Quote on site?
03
Strategic Decision
YES or NO — do we do business with this customer?
Are any critical factors blocking profitable objectives? Make the call. Both decisions are valid SDM outcomes.
✓ Offensive
→Make the contract
→Critical factors are clear
→Customer is aligned
→Scope can be defined
→Job is profitable
✕ Defensive
→Refuse service — protect company
→Customer not aligned
→Scope can't be defined
→System inaccessible
Defensive is not failure.
04
Offensive — Achieve the Objectives
Communication · Contract
Two Profitable Objectives must be achieved: Communication and Contract. Get on the same page with the customer, then build the contract — assign the right labor package to each scope item, bundle where appropriate, add materials at your markup, present and close.
SC
Service Charge ½-hr slot
A
Pack A 1-hr slot
B
Pack B 2-hr slot
C
Pack C Half day
D
Pack D Full day · solo
E
Pack E Full day · 2-man
The Bid Rule — Round Up. Always.
These are time slots, not time estimates — each one covers the whole commitment on the property: arrival through close-out. Drive and parts runs are already built into every package. Bid the whole job — nothing else. Property Visits, parts runs and callbacks are overhead — already in the price. 30–45 min of work bids as a 1-hr slot. 1½–1¾ hrs bids as a 2-hr slot. Work that eats the day is a day — bid the D. Never round down. Finish early? Call the office and add a smaller slot. Over-bid a small job and you shrink your own day — honest bidding is the best-paying move on the board.
Package Multipliers — Field Judgment
Multipliers price complications inside the slot — the digging that makes a 1-hour repair a harder hour. If the complication needs more time than the slot holds, that's not a multiplier — round up to the next slot. Size up first — price it in before the contract.
1.0×Standard — typical scope
1.25×Minor access or added complexity
1.5×Flooded box, tight access, unusual conditions
>1.5×Needs more time than the slot holds — next package up
Examples: Flooded valve box = Pack A × 1.5 · Overgrown access = Pack A × 1.25 · Custom-fit on non-standard equipment = Pack B × 1.5
Labor Package+Materials × Markup=Total Invoice
Labor covers overhead + net profit + your commission — the price sits above the company's floor and yours. Discount the package and the discount comes out of your check. Materials are always separate.
Unknowns in the hole? Set two anchors — where you can isolate it and where it ends. Path 1 fixes the failure. Path 2 rebuilds anchor to anchor. Existing customer — Path 1 with the risk explained. New customer — lead with Path 2.
💬
Objective 1 — Communication
Are we on the same page? Peace of mind established? Customer confident in scope and you as the contractor.
📋
Objective 2 — Contract
A formal estimate with a documented scope of work, signed before work begins. Priced above both floors — so overhead is covered, the profit target is hit, and the commission is earned.
↻ Forecast Loop
As new information emerges during the visit, re-enter the size-up. Critical factors can change — an offensive decision can become defensive. The SDM never stops processing. Same model as the fire ground. Different scene.